Metal rolling machine



June 26, 1934. w Q CQRYELL -1,964 503.

METAL ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 21, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet l gwuentot Ml/Idm Gary! June 26, 1934. I w. c. CORYELL 1,964,503

METAL ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 21, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 gmwnto'o Mlllam C. (0 rye/l June 26, 1934. w c CQRYELL 1,964,503

METAL ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 2 1, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 gwventoz wul/am c Cal-yell June 26, 1934. w. c. CORYE'LL METAL ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 21. 1929 5 SheetsSheet 4 June 26, 1934. w. c. CORYELL 1,964,503

METAL ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 21, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 a: I as s i I f] l 1" Fly. 9

M/l/o C. Cary all Patented June 26, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METAL ROLLING MACHINE William C. Coryell, Youngstown, Ohio, assignor, by mesne-assignments, to United Engineeringand Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 21, 1929. Serial No. 387.308

19 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to metal rolling and has to do more particularly with rolling metal in strip form.

It has been proposed heretofore to roll metal strip by feeding it from one reel or drum to another through the pass of a mill. It has also been proposed heretofore by me to reduce a strip by cold rolling it under compression and high tension proportioned to give a resultant force within the metal at the point of reduction which shall be well suited for reducing the thickness of the metal of the strip. This latter method is set forth in my prior Patent No. 1,618,515, dated February 22, 1927. a

One object of the present invention is to provide a new machine for rolling the strip by a reciprocating movement which will enable the strip to be worked by the tension method of my Patent No. 1,618,515 with a minimum of handling.

Another object is to provide a machine which will permit of the ready handling and reducing or finishing of the strip, and at the same time doing this efliciently and economically.

Another object is to provide a machine in which the body of the roll is well supported so that there will be little or no tendency for the working rolls to vibrate to produce chatter marks on the surface of the rolled strip. 5

With these objects in view,.I have conceived the idea of working the metal of the strip at two points in its travel, at one point while it is traveling in one direction and at the other point while it is traveling in the other direction. This gives me the advantage of an offset and backed-up roll in either direction and accomplishes a decided gain in time over a method where there is but a single working point or where a second instrument or set of instruments must be substituted for a first. In the former case there must be a cessation in the working of the metal while the working instruments, say, reducing rolls, are adjusted for the return run of the strip. In the latter case there must be additional handling to bring the strip from the first work point to the second. By the employment of two working points between the holders for the ends of the strip these objectionable operations of the prior art devices are avoided.

In general, the new ma'chinecomprises a new iorm of rolling mill in association with two reels or drums which are power driven and serve to pull the strip through the mill alternately in opposite directions. The mill portion of the machine preferably comprises small reducing rolls and heavy backing-up rolls. There are two sets of the former and they are preferably oppositely offset from the plane or planes of the axes of the backing-up rolls. The off-setting of the working rolls with respect to the backing-up rolls is such that when the working rolls are biting or reducing the metal the tendency of the working rolls to deflect, due to the pull on the strip, is countered by the support given the working rolls by the backing-up rolls.

Having stated the general objects and nature of the invention, attention may now be given to a more detailed description to be considered in connection with the accompanying drawings,'

both constituting the parts of a full disclosure of my invention. For a measure of the invention attention is directed to the appended claims.

In said drawings,

Figure l is a side elevation of the mechanical parts organized into a compact and eflicient machine constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the mill portion of the same;

Fig. 4 isa cross-section through the same portion of the machine, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. -5 is a vertical cross-section through the rolling mill, taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of one set of working-roll bearings;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section through the mill housing showing said bearings in plan; said section being taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section through a portion of a mill illustrating a modified form of rolling mill;

and

Fig. 9 is a cross-section through the working roll bearings, taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8.

Throughout these several views like characters refer to like parts.

Referring more particularly to the drawings the machine includes a base or platform 21, provided at its ends with pedestal bearings 22 and 23, and intermediate its ends with upstanding shoes 24 which serve to support spaced mill housings 25 and 26.

Mill housing 25 is provided with spaced windows 27 and 28, and mill housing 26 is provided with spaced windows 29 and 30, which are in alinement with the windows 27 and 28, respectively.

Positioned in the windows 27 and 29 are bearings 31 and 32, in which are mounted the necks of backing-up rolls 33 and 34, and the necks of working rolls, 35 and 36, respectively. These four rolls constitute a one-way mill.

Positioned in the windows 28 and 30 are bearings 38 and 39, in which are mounted the necks of backing-up rolls 40 and 41, and the necks of working rolls 42 and 43, respectively. These rolls comprise a second one-way mill.

The manner of mounting the working roll bearings is shown in Fig. 6. There the bearings 39 are shown normally urged apart by means of suitable coiled springs 37. The bearings 32 are normally urged apart in the same manner as the bearings 39.

The backing-up rolls 33 and 40 may be counterbalanced in any suitable way, as is well understood in the art.

The housings 25 and 26 are surmounted by caps 45 and 46, respectively. The cap 45 is provided on its upper face with bosses 47 and 48, and the cap 46 is providedwith similar bosses 49 and 50.

Rigidly secured within the caps 45 and 46, and extending through the bosses 47 and 50 are nuts 51, and secured in a similar manner within the caps 45 and 46 and extending through the bosses 48 and 49 are nuts 52. It will be noted that the bosses 47 and 50 are longer than the bosses 48 and 49. Threadedly secured within the nuts 51 are screws 53, and within the nuts 52 are screws 54, these screws being provided at their upper ends with square portions 55 and 56, respectively. The screws 53 and 54 exert pressure on the bearings 31 and 38 through the intermediary of breakers 5'7.

The screw-down mechanism includes brackets 58 and 59, the lower portions of which are rigidly secured to the housing caps 45 and 46, and act as separators therefor. The bracket 58 includes spaced bearings 60 and 61, and the bracket 59 includes spaced bearings 62 and63. Mounted within the bearing 60 is a hollow shaft 64, to the upper end of which is rigidly secured a hand wheel 65, and to the lower end of which is rigidly secured a pinion 66, in mesh with a gear 67, which is slidably mounted on the square end of one of the screws 53. Mounted within the hollow shaft 64 is a shaft 68, to the upper end of which is rigidly secured a hand wheel 69 and to the lower end of which is rigidly secured a pinion 70 in mesh with a gear '71, which is slidably mounted on the square end of one of the screws 54. Gears '72 and 73 are adapted to be rotated in a similar manner by means of hand wheels 74 and '75, respectively.

Mounted for rotation in the pedestal bearings 22 and 23 are reels or drums D and D respectively.

In the use of the aforesaid apparatus, the strip 8, in the form of a coil of hot rolled metal, is secured at its ends to the drums D and D, with the metal passing between the working rolls 35, 36 and 42, 43 of the mills.

The working rolls 35 and 36 are moved together by means of the aforesaid screw-down mechanism, so that considerable pressure is exerted on the metal strip S. The drum D" is then rotated by means of any suitable prime mover, such as an electric motor, and in a direction to wind the metal strip thereon, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1.

After practically all of the metal strip has been wound on the drum D, the working rolls 35 and 36 of one mill are released and the rolls 42 and 43 of the other mill are moved together compressing the metal strip therebetween. The strip S is then wound on the drum D and is thereby pulled in a direction reverse to its previous direction of travel through the mills.

It will be noted that working rolls 35 and 36 are ofiset with respect to backing-up rolls 33 and 34 and that working rolls 42 and 43 are offset in a manner similar to that in which the rolls 35 and 36 are ofiset, but in the opposite direction with respect to the backing-up rolls 40 and 41. As before explained, an electric motor may furnish the power required for this reverse movement.

. The aforesaid apparatus is particularly adapted for practicing the method of metal working set forth in my Patent No. 1,618,515, dated February 22, 1927. The resultant of the compressive force applied by the working rolls of the mill and the tension applied to the metal by means of the drum constitutes the means for reducing the metal, during each passage of the metal through the mill. Extreme elongations of the strip are thus effected in an efficient and economical manner.

As before indicated, the adjustments may be varied to provide different degrees of compression and tension, and the method of my said patent may or may not be practiced as desired. The compressive and tensile forces, and the speed of the strip, all being independently controlled, may be used in any combination.

A suitable embodiment of a modification for practicing the invention is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. As there shown the mill portion of the machine includes housings 81 having windows 82, in each of which are positioned bearings 83 and 84 for supporting the necks of backing-up rolls 85 and 86, and bearings 87 for supporting the necks of working rolls 88 and 89. These work ing rolls are in pairs 88, 88 and 89, 89. Each pair constitutes a working set, the former oneone-way mill and the latter the other one-way mill somewhat similar to the one previously referred to.

The bearings 8'7 are normally urged apart by means of coil springs 90, and are maintained against lateral movement with respect to each other by means of dowel pins 91. The bearings 87 are, however, free to move as a unit from the front to the rear of the housing or vice versa, so that either set oi. working rolls, may be brought into contact with the faces of the backing-up rolls; for this purpose, the bearings 87 are provided with feathers 92, which slide in corresponding grooves in the bearings 83 and 84.

When the strip which is being rolled is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow A, the rolls 88 and 89 occupy the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 8. When the metal is being pulled through the mill in the reverse direction, as indicated by the arrow B, the rolls 88 and 89 occupy the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8. In the solid line position, the rolls 88 are active and the rolls 89 idle, while in the dotted line position, the rolls 89 are active and the rolls 88 idle.

The apparatus herein described is adapted for rolling a wide variety of metals in strip form, such as common iron and steel, stainless iron and steel, alloy steels, brass, copper, zinc, etc.

Under certain conditions, it may be desirable to 145 drive the backing-up rolls of the mill, and for this purpose, the wobblers of these rolls may be driven in any suitable manner, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

Under other conditions it may be desirable to 1:0

drive the working rolls of the mill and in such cases wobblers may be provided on these rolls for that purpose.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present construction provides an arrangement which will fulfill the objects herein set forth, and provides a simple, practical and reliable apparatus for rolling metal in strip form according to my new method.

Without further description, it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and

it will of course be readily understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims and that different kinds of' pulling and rolling devices may be used in rolling strip according to the method herein disclosed. The forms of apparatus disclosed serve this purpose well but there is no need of restricting the practice of my new method to them.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by a patent of the United States is:

l. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with two sets'of nondriven working rolls, at least one set of nondriven backing-up rolls, means for pulling the strip back and forth through the mill between the sets of working rolls alternately in opposite directions, each set of working rolls including an upper roll and a lower roll. vertically movable upper bearings for said upper working rolls, vertically movable lower bearings for said lower working rolls, said upper rolls being mounted in said upper bearings a constant distance apart, said lower rolls being likewise mounted in said lower bearings a constant distance apart, and means for applying pressure to the backing-up rolls and thence through them to the working rolls, said sets of working'rolls being oppositely oifset laterally with reference to the backing up rolls by which they are backed when. working on the strip, said working rolls also lying in parallel vertical planes positioned laterally outward of said backing up rolls so as to include between said planes all backing up roll axes, said offset relation providing lateral support for the working rolls to counteract the forces applied thereto by the strip under tension.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1, in which the pulling means includes driven drums uponwhich the strip is alternately wound.

3. A machine for rolling metal strip comprising two sets of working rolls, power actuated means for pulling the strip between said working rolls alternately in opposite directions, rolling backing-up means for said working rolls. mountings for said working rolls freely shiftable by the strip in the direction of travel of the strip to bring said working rolls into engagement with said backing up rolls whereby the latter automatically apply pressure to one set of said working rolls in response to the pull upon the strip in one direction and to the other set of said working rolls in response to the pull upon the strip in the opposite direction.

4. A metal strip rolling machine comprising two sets of oppositely working reducing rolls, power actuated meansfor pulling the strip between said rolls alternately in opposite directions, backing-up means for said reducing rolls, and mountings for said reducing rolls shiftable in response to the movements of the strip therebetween to change the relation of said reducing rolls to said backing-up means to cause the latter to automatically apply backing pressure to said sets of rolls alternately to resist the tendency of the rolls to move bodily in response to the pull upon the strip.

5. A machine for rolling metal strip comprising two separate sets of working rolls, each set Working in an opposite direction alternately, power-actuated means for pulling the strip between the working rolls, backing-up means for said working rolls, and shiftable mountings for said working rolls movable in response to the pulling action of the strip upon said reducing rolls to move said rolls bodily with reference to said backing-up means, the movement being in the direction of travel of the strip and serving to force the working rolls on the feeding in side into engagement with the backing-up means and by reason of the resistance thereof into biting engagement with the strip to reduce the latter.

6. A metal strip rolling machine comprising a housing, backing-up rolls journaled in said housing and having their axes lying in a vertical plane, power actuated reels for pulling the metal to and fro through the machine between, but out of contact with said backing-up rolls, and two sets of reducing rolls backed by said backing-up rolls when operating on the strip, each set having the axes of its rolls lymg in a vertical plane, the vertical planes of said sets lying on opposite sides of the vertical plane through the axes of said backing-up rolls.

7. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with non-driven backingup rolls and two sets of non-driven working rolls, said working rolls being shiftable as a unit to and fro in the direction of travel of the strip, in one extreme position one set of rolls operatively engaging the backing-up rolls and the other set being free of said rolls and in the other extreme position the second set operatively engaging the rolls and the other set being free thereof. means for pulling the strip through the mill between the working rolls of each set alternately in opposite directions, the movement of the strip in one direction causing one set of working rolls to assume its operative position and the movement of the strip in the other direction causing the other set of working rolls to assume its operative position, and means for applying pressure to the backing-up rolls and thence through them to the sets of reducing rolls alternately, depending upon the direction of travel of the strip.

8. A metal strip rolling machine comprising a housing, boxes in said housing movable back and forth in the direction of travel of the strip, two sets of oppositely working reducing rolls journaled in said boxes, each set consisting of an upper roll and a lower roll and said sets being journaled a constant distance apart, power actuated means for pulling the strip between said sets of reducing rolls alternately in opposite directions, and backing-up rolls for said reducing rolls erating on the strip, each set having the axes of its rolls lying in a vertical plane, the vertical planes of said sets lying on opposite sides of the vertical plane through theaxes of said backingup rolls.

10. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with non-driven backingup rolls and two sets of non-driven working rolls, means for pulling the strip through the mill between the working rolls of each set alternately in opposite directions, means dependent upon the engagement of the working rolls with the strip to shift one set of working rolls out of working position and the other set into working position in engagement with the strip, and means for applying pressure to the backing-up rolls and thence through them to the sets of reducing rolls alternately, depending upon the direction of travel of the strip.

11. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with cooperating backing-up rolls and two sets of cooperating working rolls, said sets of working rolls being backed by said backing-up rolls when operating on the strip, power actuated reels for pulling to and fro upon the strip to pass it back and forth through the mill between said working rolls, and means for selectively bringing the rolls of said sets into working engagement with the strip, each said set having the axes of its rolls lying in a vertical plane, said vertical planes being parallel to each other, and to vertical planes through the axes of said reels, the distance from the vertical plane of each set to the vertical plane through the axis of the reel on its side of the machine being less than the distance from said reel plane to the axes of said backing-up rolls.

12. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with non-driven backing-up rolls and two sets of non-driven working rolls, means for pulling the strip through the mill between the working rolls of each set alternately in opposite directions, said sets of working rolls being movable to and fro in the direction of travel of the strip to bring the sets alternately into operation on the strip, said rolls being backed by said backing-up rolls when operating on the strip, and means for applying pressure to the backing-up rolls and thence through them to the sets of working rolls alter-' nately, depending upon the direction of travel of the strip. v

13. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with backing-up rolls and two sets of working rolls, meansfor pulling upon the strip in one direction as it passes in one direction between the sets of working rolls and alternately in the opposite direction as it passes between said rolls in the opposite direction, said sets of working rolls being movable to and fro in the direction of travel of the strip to bring the sets alternately into operation on the strip, said rolls being backed by said backing-up rolls when operating on the strip and means for applying pressure to the backing-up rolls and thence through them to the sets of working rolls alternately, depending upon the direction of travel of the strip.

14. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling' mill provided with two sets of working rolls and at least one set of backing-up rolls, means for pulling the strip back and forth through the mill between the sets of working rolls alternately in opposite directions, each set of working rollsincludingan upper roll and a lower roll, vertically movable upper bearings for said upper working rolls, vertically movable lower bearings for said lower working rolls, and means for applying pressure to the backing-up rolls and thence through them to the working rolls, said sets of working rolls being oppositely offset laterally with reference to the backing up rolls by which they are backed when working on the strip, said working rolls also lying in parallel vertical planes positioned laterally outward of said backing up rolls so as to include between said planes all backing up roll axes, said offset relation providing lateral support for the working rolls to counteract the forces applied thereto by the strip under tension.

15. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with two sets of working rolls and cooperating backing-up rolls, means for pulling the strip back and forth through the mill between the working rolls alternately in opposite directions, each set of working rolls including an upper roll and a lower roll, two vertically movable upper bearings for said upper working rolls in which bearings said rolls are mounted a constant distance apart, two vertically movable lower bearings for said lower working rolls in which bearings said rolls are mounted a constant distance apart, means whereby said upper and lower bearings at each end of said working rolls may be shifted back and forth in the direction of travel of the strip to bring said sets alternately into service on the strip, and

means for applying pressure to the backing-up rolls and thence through them to the working rolls.

16. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with two sets of working rolls and cooperating backing-up rolls, means for pulling the strip back and forth through the mill between the working rolls alternately in opposite directions, each set of working rolls including an upper roll and a lower roll, two vertically movable upper bearings for said upper working rolls in which bearings said rolls are mounted a constant distance apart, two vertically movable lower bearings for said lower working rolls in which bearings said rolls are mounted a constant distance apart, guide means associated with said upper and lower bearings at each end of said working rolls for keeping said bearings respectively in vertical alignment, and means whereby said bearings at each end of said working rolls may be moved to and fro in the direction of travel of the strip without destroying their respective vertical alignments.

17. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with two sets of working rolls and cooperating backing-up rolls, means for pulling the strip back and forth through the mill between the working rolls alternately in opposite directions, each set of working rolls including an upper roll and a lower roll, two vertically movable upper bearings for said upper working rolls in which bearings said rolls are mounted a constant distance apart, two vertically movable lower bearings for said lower working rolls in which bearings said rolls are mounted a constant distance apart, guide means associated with said upper and lower bearings at each end of said working rolls for keeping said bearings respectively in vertical alignment, means for yieldingly separating said upper and lower bearings at each end of said working rolls, and means whereby said bearings at each end of said working rolls may be moved to and fro in the direction of travel of the strip without destroying their respective vertical alignmer ts.

18. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with cooperating backingup rolls and two sets of cooperating working rolls, said sets of working rolls being oppositely off-set with reference to said backing-up rolls and being backed by said backing-up rolls when operating on the strip, reels for pulling to and fro upon the strip to pass it back and forth through the mill between said working rolls, and means for selectively bringing the rolls of said working roll sets into working engagement with the strip and backing-up engagement with said backing-up rolls, said sets of working rolls lying in parallel vertical planes positioned outward of said backing-up rolls so as to include between them all backing-up roll axes, said offset relation providing lateral support for the working rolls by the backing-up rolls in opposition to the lateral forces exerted upon the working rolls by the strip when drawn by the respective reels.

19. A machine for rolling metal strip including a rolling mill provided with cooperating backing-up rolls and two sets of cooperating working rolls, said sets of rolls occupying respectively parallel vertical planes, each set of working rolls being ofiset relative to said backing-up rolls and being backed up by the latter when operating on the strip, reels for pulling to and fro upon the strip to pass it back and forth through the mill between said working rolls, and means for bringing the working roll sets into working engagement with the strip and backing-up engagement with said backing-up rolls, said sets of working rolls lying in vertical planes positioned one on one side and the other on the other side of the vertical plane of the backing-up rolls with which they respectively cooperate when reducing the strip, said offset relation providing lateral support for the working rolls by the backing-up rolls in opposition to the lateral forces exerted upon the working rolls by the strip-when drawn by the respective reels.

' WILLIAM C. CORYELL. 

